Hi,
Like others, I remember it well losing my taste during CDT and it took about three months after chemotherapy before my taste buds eventually returned to their usual levels.
My mother suffered from permanent loss of sense of smell and taste after a severe cold for over twenty years! She tried various remedies, joined discussion forums and participated in a local working group trying different options. She did find that taking a small amount of zinc supplement did help with an ad hoc return of her smell and taste, which she was more than happy to accept that on occasions she could taste and enjoy her food. She used to experience metallic/chemical tastes especially after eating red meat and found either very sweet, bitter and salty food could produce some tastes in her mouth, which is the same experience as others have commented on eating ice cream and salt/vinegar crisps. Also cold and frozen food can taste better than hot foods. Some people also state food tastes a little better with plastic utensils and glassware in order to reduce the metallic taste. You could also try some sugar free gum or some hard sweets to help reduce the metallic tastes in your mouth. I used mint chewing gum to help reduce the strange tastes.
Apparently one of the many reasons why our bodies require zinc is for proper sense of taste and smell. However, I wouldn’t recommend taking zinc supplements whilst on chemotherapy or whilst taking other prescription drugs due to any possible interaction. Taking too much zinc can cause some serious side effects and be toxic to our bodies, with the Department of Health UK recommending no more than 25 mg be taken on a daily basis, including what we eat from daily products such as cereals, sea foods, red meat, whole grains, brewer’s yeast, etc. I know my mother used to experience “eye floaters” after taking zinc supplements for a long period, which stopped when she came off the zinc for some months.
You also need to watch out for the wide range of different types and strengths of zinc supplements on the market with some prone to cause stomach problems as well as nausea and you usually need to take them with a protein meal rather than on an empty stomach. It’s a possible option to consider if your taste does not start to return after a couple of months after your chemotherapy has finished, but perhaps best if you discuss with your doctor first.
Take care.
Jan
mhnevill 10 years, 7 months ago.
